University of Illinois trustees tell of Blagojevich influence

Tara Malone, Jodi S. Cohen and Stacy St. ClairTribune reporters

As two of the longest-serving University of Illinois trustees appeared Tuesday before a state panel investigating clout in admissions, the questioning quickly focused on Gov. Rod Blagojevich's behind-the-scenes influence.

One board member remembered specific phone calls and a request for favors. The other recalled little -- even as he looked at internal e-mails that painted him as the intermediary between the governor's office and the state's flagship university.

Trustee Kenneth Schmidt said the Blagojevich team chose Trustee Lawrence Eppley to chair the board in 2003, a decision he learned about in a phone call from one of the governor's top political fundraisers, Christopher Kelly.

"I don't know of any time where a previous governor had reached in and gotten so involved in a decision," Schmidt testified before the Illinois Admissions Review Commission, which is investigating possible abuses at the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Schmidt said that soon after that decision, Eppley told him: "They want us to do some things for Wyma," referring to John Wyma, one of Blagojevich's fundraisers and closest advisers. He said he did not know if Wyma received any favors.

Eppley, in a phrase he used repeatedly in nearly three hours of testimony before a visibly skeptical panel, said he had no "specific recollection" of talking to Schmidt about Wyma.

He denied serving as Blagojevich's intermediary for admissions requests but acknowledged he passed along up to four inquiries a year for the governor's kitchen cabinet, including Kelly and Chiefs of Staff Lon Monk and John Harris.

Records show that Eppley -- who describes himself as possibly "U. of I.'s biggest cheerleader" -- was involved in Blagojevich-related requests for applicants to the undergraduate program, including one for a relative of convicted influence peddler Antoin "Tony" Rezko. He also inquired about law and medical school applicants.

"As sensational as it seems now, it seemed benign then," said Eppley, who said he did not remember speaking with university officials about the Rezko family member. He said he never directed administrators to admit a student.

An ongoing Chicago Tribune investigation found that more than 800 undergraduate applicants received preferential treatment under the sway of state lawmakers, university trustees and other influential people. Dozens of graduate school and law applicants also got undue consideration.

Eppley denied participating in a highly controversial admissions case in which administrators discussed admitting an unqualified law school applicant with ties to a deep-pocketed Blagojevich donor in exchange for jobs, even though the chancellor has testified that Eppley was part of those conversations.

Public records show that Eppley was included on parts of the e-mail exchange, but he said his recollection of that time period is foggy because he was distracted by developments in the Chief Illiniwek maelstrom.

The trustee repeatedly said he did not discuss jobs with Chancellor Richard Herman, but Commissioner Maribeth Vander Weele noted the irony of Eppley remembering what he didn't talk about but being unable to recall actual conversations.

"It is weird enough that I would remember that," Eppley replied.

Eppley's memory lapses at times led to snickers and raised eyebrows from commissioners. Witnesses are not testifying under oath, and the commission does not have subpoena power.

"It is hard for us to understand some of the things you say, sir, because you become chairman for the governor ... and you don't know how that happened," Commissioner Bernard Judge said to Eppley. "You handled referrals for Chris Kelly ... and you don't know how that happened."

After the meeting, Judge said: "Every critical point, he had no memory. I don't know what it was, but it was not enlightening in any way to listen to him."

Wearing a blue suit and an orange tie, Eppley, a U. of I. alumnus first appointed by Gov. George Ryan, said he reached out to the Blagojevich administration early in the first term to make sure the new governor looked favorably upon the university, especially in budget decisions.

Though he didn't know any high-ranking administration officials at first, Eppley said he became friendly with Kelly, a Champaign native who pleaded guilty to tax fraud last month and has been indicted alongside Blagojevich in a widespread public corruption case. Herman testified he saw Eppley with Kelly at various university sporting events.

His relationship with the governor's advisers eventually helped him leapfrog over Schmidt and become the board's chairman after only two years of service. Schmidt was next in line for the job as the panel's most-senior member, but Eppley said he had several conversations with Monk indicating that the administration "really wanted me to be the chair."